Bullet finally reached his limit.
He whipped around, his already intense eyes widening until they looked like enormous bells as he stared at Kaido.
Excitement burned in them so brightly that it seemed capable of setting the surrounding air ablaze.
"Marine Headquarters…"
His voice actually trembled with anticipation.
"You're going there to raise hell?!"
Bullet's mountain-like frame leaned forward instinctively, every muscle in his body tightening with barely contained excitement.
Then he practically shouted his plea.
"Kaido! Take me with you!"
"I swear I won't slow you down!"
"When it comes to fighting people and tearing buildings apart, I'm a goddamn professional! There's nobody more qualified than me!"
Bullet slapped one fist into his palm.
"Doesn't matter who we run into. I'll rip open a path for you and take the fight straight to them!"
Kaido's already fierce dragon brows immediately drew together.
He stared suspiciously at Bullet from head to toe, as though trying to determine whether bringing him along would be more trouble than he was worth.
After a long moment, Kaido finally spoke.
"You?"
His voice was filled with undisguised skepticism.
"You're a reckless bastard who goes berserk the second a fight gets good."
Kaido crossed his arms.
"What happens when you lose your damn mind, stop listening to orders, and screw up Ron's carefully laid plan?"
He snorted.
"I'm not getting dragged into trouble because you couldn't control yourself."
"THAT WON'T HAPPEN!"
Bullet answered instantly.
He pounded his broad chest hard enough to produce a series of booming thuds.
His face transformed into the very picture of sincerity—at least, as sincere as Douglas Bullet was physically capable of looking.
"I, Douglas Bullet, swear right here and now that I'll follow His Majesty Ron's orders!"
He straightened up dramatically.
"Whatever he tells me to do, that's what I'll do!"
"If His Majesty tells me to go east, I won't take one damn step west!"
"Even if there's a mountain of blades or a sea of fire in front of me, I won't back down!"
His enthusiasm only grew.
"If he tells me to charge first, I'll charge first!"
"If he wants me to launch a feint and bait the enemy, I'll do that too!"
"I'll carry out the mission exactly the way he wants it done!"
Bullet's expression then became almost pitiful.
"Just…"
He let out a long, frustrated sigh.
"I've been stuck here doing nothing for so damn long that my bones are starting to rust!"
He flexed his massive shoulders.
"I'm like a blade left sitting in its sheath until the edge goes dull!"
Then he looked at Kaido with almost comical desperation.
"So take me with you! I'm begging you!"
Kaido silently studied the giant man in front of him.
Bullet looked like someone who had been forced to suppress his instincts for so long that he was only a few steps away from losing his mind.
And for once, his promises sounded remarkably sincere.
Kaido's tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
He raised one hand and rubbed his stubbled chin.
His gaze moved over Bullet's massive physique and the violent, oppressive aura rolling from his body.
There was no denying the man's strength.
'Could be useful.'
If Bullet went with him, the lunatic could draw a huge portion of the Marines' attention simply by doing what came naturally.
That would give Kaido more freedom to search for King.
The idea was becoming more appealing by the second.
"Hmm…"
Kaido exhaled a hot breath through his nostrils.
The sulfurous air distorted visibly around his face.
Then his enormous mouth slowly split into a predatory grin, revealing rows of sharp white teeth.
"Fine!"
His voice rolled like thunder.
"You can come."
Bullet's eyes immediately lit up.
Kaido pointed one huge finger at him.
"But remember this—if you start screwing around and ignore the plan…"
His grin became dangerous.
"I'll beat your ass myself."
"HAHAHAHA! NO PROBLEM!"
Bullet exploded with joy.
He threw his head back and laughed before punching the empty air.
BOOM!
The fist produced a violent sonic boom, blasting dust and loose stones away from his feet.
"Finally! A real fight!"
Bullet was practically vibrating with excitement.
"Come on! Move! I've already waited too damn long!"
He grinned like a maniac.
"I can't wait to rip the roof off Marine Headquarters!"
Kaido and Bullet looked at one another.
Two enormous monsters.
Two battle maniacs.
Two men whose idea of a good time involved catastrophic property damage and opponents strong enough to survive more than one punch.
Their excitement and killing intent had become almost tangible.
Neither wasted another second.
They launched themselves toward the harbor like two streaks of destructive light, tearing across the ground at tremendous speed and leaving clouds of dust rolling behind them.
Only one goal remained in their minds.
Marineford.
They were about to turn the symbol of Marine justice and order into the site of one enormous, destructive party.
...
Dragon remained where he was, silently watching the two enormous figures disappear into the distance.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
There was concern in that tiny reaction, mixed with helpless resignation at just how recklessly Kaido and Bullet seemed determined to approach this mission.
In the end, all of it condensed into a long, heavy sigh.
...
The harbor carried its own unique atmosphere, steeped in the accumulated presence of countless powerful figures and years of history.
The moment Kaido stepped into the open air, his eyes were immediately drawn toward the endless sea.
It stretched all the way to the horizon like an enormous sheet of blue silk, sparkling beneath the light while concealing unfathomable depths and countless unknowns beneath its surface.
The salty sea breeze brushed across Kaido's face.
It did absolutely nothing to cool the blood boiling inside him.
His eyes burned with pent-up battle lust and a hunger for destruction that had been suppressed for far too long.
Kaido lifted his head toward the vast sky, his chest rising and falling heavily as tremendous power surged through his body.
Then he finally stopped holding back.
"ROOOAAAR—!!!"
A tremendous dragon roar exploded across the harbor.
The sound rolled outward like thunder, violently stirring the clouds overhead as though the entire sky were trembling in response.
Along with that declaration of impending destruction, Kaido's hybrid form began to change.
His body expanded at astonishing speed.
Muscles shifted and transformed beneath dark blue scales that gleamed with a hard metallic sheen beneath the sunlight.
His thick limbs warped into enormous clawed appendages, each talon sharp enough to tear through almost anything in its path.
His body lengthened continuously, twisting and stretching as his full draconic form emerged.
In only a matter of moments—
a colossal Azure Dragon more than three hundred meters long coiled above the harbor.
Savage horns jutted from his massive head like blades pointed toward the heavens.
His enormous eyes glowed with murderous excitement.
His vast body blocked out the light over much of the harbor, casting everything below into shadow.
Even the slightest movement of his enormous frame generated violent gusts that sent loose objects tumbling across the ground.
Kaido now looked less like a living creature and more like some mythical calamity descending into the mortal world.
His shadow covered nearly half the harbor.
The sheer draconic pressure radiating from him swept outward like a tidal wave.
Even Divine Kingdom soldiers standing far away felt their hearts tighten beneath it.
Those with weaker strength found their breathing growing difficult, as though an invisible hand were squeezing their chests. Sweat immediately formed across more than a few foreheads.
"Worororororo!"
Kaido's thunderous laughter rolled down from above.
His enormous dragon head slowly turned until his sharp gaze settled on Bullet below.
"HAHAHAHA! Now that's more like it!"
Bullet's eyes lit up.
He bent his knees.
Then—
BOOM!
The specially reinforced alloy beneath his feet cracked apart in a spiderweb pattern before collapsing inward under the force of his launch.
Bullet shot into the sky like a cannonball.
His massive body traced a powerful arc through the air before landing squarely on Kaido's broad back.
Both of Bullet's feet were coated in dense Armament Haki.
He planted himself there like roots sinking into bedrock and immediately stood firm without even swaying.
"Hold on tight!"
Kaido laughed again.
"I'm not exactly known for smooth flying!"
His enormous tail swept violently behind him.
A savage hurricane erupted across the harbor, scattering debris through the air and bending nearby trees almost sideways.
"Fly however the hell you want!"
Bullet roared back.
"If I fall off, I'll write my damn name backward!"
The headwind struck his face like countless blades, but Bullet did not care.
If anything, his grin only grew wider.
His wild red hair streamed behind him like a battle flag as excitement and challenge burned in his eyes.
For the briefest instant, everything seemed to freeze.
Then Kaido moved.
The colossal Azure Dragon's body, vast enough to seem capable of covering the sky itself, suddenly surged forward.
Every scale across his body gleamed with a cold, mysterious light as immense power erupted through his frame.